Court summons

Mrsunseeker

I received today a summons for a property I rented for my daughter on a six month lease.
Basically
Beginning Oct boiler pack in
Up till end nov had contact with landlord but still not managed to got the boiler repaired. Received nasty email from him saying what do I expect him to do if the could not get the parts. Boiler did heating and hot water and shower. No bath in property.
From end oct till end november no replies from landlord. Shop he ran letting agency from shut down. Told to with old rent payments by receiver.
Daughter rehoused by social services mid november due to problems.
Contacted by landlord wanting his 2 months rent we had not paid. I argued that has the property had not complied has fit to live in I would expect him to forget the rent. He sent me a few threatning emails and letters. So I told him to stop and take me to court.
Today my daughter received in the post court papers adressed to me but with 2 incorrect adresses on them.
They was also dated Jan and feb 09. Has I had never received them till now I have not been able to dispute the claim in the time scale.
The forms still have the incorrect adress on them.
How do I stand now.

Forms are from money claims online.

Jowo_2

Do you mean that a judgement has been made against you or that you've been served notice of the claim and asked to submit a defence?

Are you your daughter's guarantor for the tenancy?

Did the landlord provide you with a new address if that shop was the contact address listed on the tenancy?

Was your daughter within a fixed term period or on a periodic tenancy?

Did you serve notice on the landlord and keep a copy of it?

Did the receiver give you written advice to withold the rent - i.e. do you have proof of this?

Mrsunseeker

This is notice of claim but it is 11 months old.
Yes I am guarantor. She has special needs.
Not till he started sending threatning emails and letters.
6 month contract.
I still have all the emails and letters that have been exchanged. We tried to tell the landlord that has the boiler had not been fixed she was being moved by social services. They even tried to contact him but was unable to. It was over the phone but the landlord has included it in one of his emails.

see on google ilkeston advertiser
Lets home providers.
police where also involved

clutton_2

phone up the court and ask them what the position is with regard to this case.....

Jowo_2

Apologies. Still a bit confused about the status of the claim. Have you checked on the Moneyclaim online site if the claimant actually went ahead with the case and if judgement was made against you? i.e. do you now have an unsatifisfied County Court Judgement (CCJ) against you?

Is the documentation you've received some kind of enforcement activity to get you to pay the debt?

Jowo_2

In the meantime, here's some info on how to set aside a CCJ if you've ended up with one without your knowledge

http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/england_wales/factsheet.php?page=12_how_to_set_aside_a_judgment_in_the_county_court

http://www.insolvencyhelpline.co.uk/ccj-removal/valid-reasons.php

http://www.trustonline.org.uk/understand-judgments-fines/set-aside-a-judgment/

SouthCoast

A search of the relevant credit files should reveal if there is a CCJ:

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/credit-rating-credit-score

Mrsunseeker

I have just been on the website and just filled in the form to show I have received the papers. I am going to dispute it all by sending the documents to the court. If they will still accept it being it was adressed incorrectly.

g_attrill

If there has been a judgment entered you can apply to have it set-aside and the case effectively reset.

Then don't just send your paperwork about the problem to the court - you need explain why (specifically) you do not believe that you are liable to pay the amounts claimed. So I think you will need to specify how the lack of hot water and heating (and no details on when it would be fixed) is in breach of the contract.

N79

As I fear you are about to find out, repair issues do not give you the write to unilaterally walk out of a tenancy agreement - hence the LL's claim. However, if the property was genuinely uninhabitable then you can argue a defence that the tenancy was frustrated.

With your defence you will need to include copies of the letters you wrote to the LL at the time highlighting the repair problems and the fact that you wanted them fixed. You will also need to provide a copy of your written notice to quit. You will need to provide copies of your letters to environmental health / the council and their reponses that show that the property was uninhabitable.

Basically, you need to prove that the property was uninhabitable, that you gave the LL a reasonable period to sort out the problems and that you informed the LL of what you were doing. You will need to have followed the established proceedure for dealing with repairs and you will need to show that you followed it (the shelter website gives you details of the proceedure). If you fail to do this then the LL should win as you withheld rent, thus breaching the contract.

The onus is very much going to be on you to prove your case - the LL does not have to prove anything beyond the fact that a tenancy exists.